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At the center of the Galaxy, a planet-sized Machine of terrifying power and unfathomable purpose hurls entire star systems into a supermassive black hole. Wesley Crusher, now a full-fledged Traveler, knows the Machine must be stopped…but he has no idea how. He enlists the help of Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew, who also fail to halt the unstoppable alien juggernaut’s destructive labors. But they soon divine the Machine’s true purpose, which threatens to exterminate all life in the Milky Way Galaxy. With time running out, Picard realizes he knows of only one person who might be able to stop the Machine in time to avert a galactic catastrophe—but he has no idea how to find him.

Wesley Crusher witnesses a Machine destroying several star systems, including inhabited ones, by casting them into the black holeAbbadon. He contacts the Travellers for help but they flee, having had many unsuccessful encounters with the Machine in the past. Instead, he turns to the Enterprise for help.

Wesley transports the Enterprise to Abbadon where Worf leads an away team inside. Chen realises it is the product of the same Machine Race who constructed V'Ger while Taurik downloads the Machine's mission. They learn it intends to build Abbadon to a large enough size and crash it into Sagittarius A*, creating a wormhole and causing a shockwave that will destroy all organic life in the galaxy over the course of several thousand years and instantly eradicate all subspace, destroying much technology and all faster than light travel or communication.

Meanwhile, Data has made contact with the rogue Fellowship of Artificial Intelligences group who are holding Akharin and Rhea McAdams prisoner and is also taken prisoner by them. Since the Machine refuses to acknowledge organic life as true life, Wesley guides their ship to it where the Fellowship's leader, Gatt, incapacitates him and communicates with the Machine. He becomes converted to its belief that true life is only retained by uploading knowledge to multiple points, seeing it as immortality rather than losing individuality.

Data's group take control of the ship with the Enterprise's help and Data also communicates with the Machine. However, it judges them unworthy and begins plunging the sentient ship Altanexa into Abbadon. Most of the Fellowship evacuate and Data, along with Gatt, tries to retrieve two escape pods containing Akharin and Rhea. Ultimately, he chooses to save Akharin and allow Rhea to be crushed by the black hole.

Finally, Chen realises the Machine Race are using the wormholes to create a work of art that will outlast them. Picard, Data and Wesley convince the Machine to work with the Travellers and repair the damage to subspace, instead creating a network of travel conduits that will benefit all. Gatt returns peacefully to the main Fellowship, affected by his experience, while Akharin returns to Earth with Data and restores Lal and his own immortality.